The Grant Mansion Welcomes You, Aliens and All
by newbienovelistRD
Summary: After experiencing a magical evening with the Guardians of Childhood, Lea finds out that there are some other stories and tales that are real, as well.
1. New Stories, Different Adventures

**A RotG and Ben 10 Crossover where Lea meets a few of the Grant Mansion aliens and family members...Along with a few other secrets. ;) Co-Writtened by Redbat132, Steelcode, and myself. Enjoy and no flames please.**

 **Redbat132 only owns Lea Carolina Thompson, while the rest belong to their respected owners.**

* * *

It was another Winter day at New York City. Around the streets was Lea Thompson, a teen girl that has met her favorite myths and legends one day and could not wait to tell her bestie about it.

She was skipping on the sidewalk path that would lead her to the Golden Goose Bookstore. It was already close to a late morning. Everyone was up, walking around the park plus streets, dealing with their pets' barking/meowing, and loud honking cars trying to get through traffic. With this much noise, it would drive a person crazy. Good thing it didn't bother Lea, considering she was used to loud noises in New York over the years. That, and she wasn't paying attention to what was around her.

She hummed her favorite holiday songs, twirling with happiness as she continued walking. Lea truly was over the moon on what happened that fateful night. She had to remind herself to thank Katherine for giving her the book to learn more about Jack Frost and encouraging her to create a gift for him on his anniversary.

Not really in a rush, Lea kept walking and daydreaming about what her day holds with the next time she sees Jack Frost again.

 _This is so awesome! I got to meet Jack Frost and the rest of the Guardians of Childhood!_ Lea thought to herself, unable to stop grinning happily.

As she stopped for the pedestrian and wait for it to turn green, Lea soon noticed a strange black bird sitting on the power lines behind her using the glass reflection of a store on her right. She turned around to see squat. Believing it was her imagination again, Lea shook her head and rode the bird off as nothing.

 _Probably a raven passing by,_ she figured in thought, already moving.

In less than a few minutes, Lea arrived at the Golden Goose Bookstore. The familiar bell sound was heard after Lea opened the door and closed it to come inside.

"Hey, Kate! I have some exciting stuff I want to share with you!" Lea said with a little cheery singing in her tone at the end.

Just then, Lea looked around to see that Katherine was nowhere to be seen in the store. She walked over to Kate's working desk to find a note with Lea's name on it, a thick olive-green book opened, and a golden colored snow globe that had nothing inside.

Lea grabbed the note and read it:

 **Lea, I'm out of the store to handle an important emergency. I should be back in a couple of hours or so. You may stay as long as you want. Please make sure you put everything back where you first found it. -Katherine**

Although slightly disappointed about her bookworm friend not here, Lea decided to keep herself entertained and wait until Kate returned.

"Not a problem. I could always pass the time with a little reading," Lea shrugged, already walking behind the desk to see what story Kate left open. "And I can show her my bracelet later,"

Lea ruffled up her left jacket's sleeve to see her crystal bracelet that was given by the Guardian of Wonder. Ever since her epic adventure, she wanted to add a few touches to make it more special. So, Lea made a few jewels around it. Each symbolled jewel and shape represented the Guardians that Lea met. Red square with a present is Wonder, green upside-down triangle with blue decorated Easter egg is Hope, purple diamond with a white tooth is Memories, yellow circle with golden colored sand is Dreams, and blue hexagon with a white snowflake is Fun.

Smiling, Lea parted from her little creations to get a better look at the opened book. She lifted up the front cover to read the title of the book was ' _The Grant Mansion: A Home for All'_ in golden colored letters, written by the same author of the Jack Frost book, M.G. Joyce. Not many people know about the author. All Lea knows is that he prefers releasing his work only in the Golden Goose Bookstore instead of anywhere else. Which still perplexed the young teen.

"The Grant Mansion? I think Kate told me about this story before," Lea said out loud, putting the book down flat to read the opened chapter her friend last left. "Yeah…it was about different tales involving two human women that own a mansion where both humans and creatures from outer space live together as one big happy family."

Although it sounded strange that actual aliens would exist and mate with humans, there was something about the tale that intrigued Lea. As different and unusual the creatures looked from the outside, residents that live there love them for who they are from within.

"Man, I can't imagine what it's like to live in a big crazy family with a few of them as different creatures," Lea muttered, placing a hand on the snow globe that was on the desk.

Unbeknownst to Lea, the snow globe she was touching started to reveal a picture of a spooky mansion covered in snow.

Suddenly, a book from the one of the shelves fell and slammed into the ground, causing Lea to jump in startlement and accidentally knocked over the snow globe off the table where it shattered.

When that happened, a glowing doorway appeared in front of Lea, right where the globe got smashed.

"What in the world?!" Lea exclaimed, moving closer to the mystical doorway standing before her.

She looked at the mysterious portal in awe. Never before has she seen a snow globe do that. Letting her curiosity get the better of her-not to mention loved a good adventure-Lea grinned and jumped through the portal. It closed within seconds after being used.

* * *

After taking a second to adjust her eyes from the blinding light she passed through, Lea found herself in a snowy forest that she didn't even recognized.

It was cloudy with the sun barely showing, two or so feet of snow all over the ground, and some trees in the same boat.

 _Huh? ...It led me to a different spot in Central Park?_ Lea wondered to herself, walking around in the snow. _I thought it would take me somewhere, I don't know…exciting?_

She continued looking around until Lea spotted some big dogs from a distance. One looked greyish blue with the other orange colored. To her, it looked like they were playing around in the snow with each other. Like a friendly tussle.

"Are those wolves or regular dogs?" Lea questioned herself, squinting on the far away perspective.

As if her question was answered, the two creatures sniffed Lea out and quickly pounced right towards her! Luckily, she ducked and moved out of the way from being pinned before running.

"Not wolves nor dogs! Something worse! Much worse!" Lea hollered in horror while not sticking around to find out what they were.

When she noticed that below her was a steep hill, Lea decided to use her creativity to escape. She grabbed a half-hollowed log and used it as a snowboard to ride down the hill.

Lea kept balance and turned left to right from hitting any trees coming her way, feeling the wind running through her curly held up hair. If she wasn't riding for her life, this would actually be fun.

Then, after seeing that those big beasts were still chasing her from behind, Lea took out her hockey stick and grabbed a few hockey pucks to take a few shots to slow them down. Of course, she doesn't plan on hitting the pucks directly at them. Such as on the face or anything like that. Lea wasn't the type of person to harm creatures. Instead, with the help of her hockey stick, she just ricochets the pucks on hitting the trees and quickly trips them from below.

"Oh, yeah! She shoots, she scores!" Lea cheered, looking backward instead of forward.

Unfortunately, her hollow board tripped on a rock that made Lea stumble forward.

"WHOA!" Lea hollered, only to hit her head against a tree that made her vision go dark.

Before losing consciousness, the last thing Lea saw was the two dogs catching up and getting close to her…

* * *

Moments later, Lea slowly woke up from a cushioned chair and rubbed her head.

"Ugh, man…What a dream," she muttered, sitting up to feel her forehead. "I must have fallen asleep while reading one of Kate's story books."

Of course, Lea soon realized that she was not in the bookstore nor her room. In fact, it looked like she was in a fancy living room full of creepy yet somewhat clean décor around. There seemed to be a chandelier in the center of the room, stairs on the left side, a soft rug and coffee table in Lea's view, and a fireplace.

Another thing Lea noticed was a blanket around her and a heating pack on top of her head. Along with her jacket, scarf, earmuffs, gloves, snow boots, and socks were taken off. She still had her scarlet long-sleeved shirt and long jade green jeans on.

Once adjusting herself, Lea took the blanket and heating pack off before standing up.

"Okay...either I'm still dreaming or I'm in someone else's home," Lea replied, feeling a little uneasy.

Suddenly, she heard a growl that did not sounded friendly. Slowly turning her head on seeing what it was, Lea found herself pinned by something big and ferocious. All she could see on the creature was the same orange fur and up-close razor-sharp teeth with black lips.

Lea whimpered in fear and closed her eyes, not wanting to see what horrible things this creature was about to do to her.

In less than a second, the growling stopped and was replaced with playful barks, along with some doggie kisses by a big, slobbery tongue running up her face.

Lea jumped in startlement from that but dissolved into laughter when the orange creature kept licking the blonde teen from her neck to her face. Despite it being gross, Lea was too busy getting tickled to even care.

"Heeheeheehahahaha! Down, boy! Or girl! Whatever you are! Just stahahahahap!" Lea giggled, gently pushing the creature away from her.

"Hey! Save some for me, will ya, Wildmutt?" a growling voice said from a distance.

Soon, Lea felt the creature stop and let her go…only for a different wolf-like creature to pin her down and lick-tickle her neck with his tongue as the first orange creature licked her bare feet.

"EEEEEEEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!" Lea begged through her laughter.

If this torcher wasn't already bad enough, the grey wolf lifted up her shirt and use his fluffy tail to swish around her stomach that made the blonde teen laugh harder.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHOHO! THAHAHAHAHAHAT TIHIHIHIHIHIHICKLES!" Lea laughed, trying to squirm out of their hold and escape with no veil.

Just then, a tall man in a black and green batty jumpsuit walked in, carrying a tray of two large bowls and a mug of hot chocolate. "Okay, everyone! The drinks are on me!" he called out, placing the bowls on the floor.

Once the two dog-like creatures heard that, they stopped torturing Lea and hurried to drink their refreshments.

Lea calmed herself down from all the laughter, taking a few deep breathes.

"I see that my friends were giving you a warm welcome," a Transylvanian voice replied, walking close to Lea.

When she looked up, Lea freaked out at what she saw. It looked like a vampire with green eyes, pale-blue skin, black lips and sharp yellow teeth. He wore a black and green jumpsuit, black gloves with green fingers that possess sharp claws, had green markings on his suit, and a green mask with spikes on it. His head spikes are part of his suit and they do not cover any part of his body. He also had green flaps under his arms, resembling the wings of a bat.

Whoever he was, the blonde teen only assumed that he haunts this place.

"AAAAIEEEEEE!" Lea screamed, moving away from the bloodsucker. "Y-Y-You're a v-v-v-vampire!"

The vampire set the mug down at the coffee table and approached his frightened house guest. He smiled his pointed teeth. "Good evening..." He laughed in his throat, giving Lea the chills.

Lea whimpered and scoot herself away from the vampire until she was close to her bag and took out her hockey stick in a defending way.

"Stay back! I know how to use a hockey stick and I'm not afraid to use it!" Lea threatened, standing her ground and getting up from the floor.

The vampire just smiled and looked directly at Lea. A strange swirling pattern formed in his green eyes.

Lea saw the odd swirling in his eyes that made her not look away. She stared. And stared. And stared...

"Ohhhh..." Lea felt her mind growing hazy, her grip loosening on her weapon.

"Look deep into my eyes..." The vampire said, moving closer. "You are under my command."

Lea nodded mutely.

"Now, drop the stick," he gently ordered, directing his finger to the ground.

Lea did exactly that without hesitation, letting go of her hockey weapon as commanded and let it make a noise when hitting the ground.

"Good girl. Now, try to relax and tell me about yourself. What is your name?"

"Lea…Lea Carolina Thompson," she answered emotionlessly.

"Why were you out in the middle of the forest?" the vampire asked, gently.

"I was just exploring around where I was until I ended up being chased by two dog-like creatures and tried to lose them down a hill," Lea explained, feeling a bit sleepy and could drop at any moment.

The vampire walked closer to Lea, looking into her eyes that were half-way closed from the hypnotic effect. "Do you work for anyone that knows us or wants to destroy us?"

"No. I don't," the entranced girl answered honestly, shaking her head on that question. "Whose 'us'?"

"I will explain everything as soon as I'm done asking a few more questions for you," the vampire assured, grinning while placing his right hand on her left shoulder.

During all that commotion, Lea's childhood toy, Nightlight, came out of the Lea's backpack after sensing that Lea was in danger. He became shocked when seeing a weird vampire being that was mesmerizing his human friend! Acting fast, Nightlight got out and used his speared staff to stab below the vampire's feet.

"OWWWW!" the vampire jumped, feeling a sharp pain on his right foot. He became a bit surprised to see that his attacker was a living toy. "Why you little-" the vampire grumbled in anger, as he kicked the puppet into a chair.

However, with his guard down, Lea woke up from her trance to see what was going on. She picked up her hockey stick and slapped the vampire with it when he wasn't looking.

"Leave Nightlight alone!" Lea exclaimed, giving another high-sticking that sent the vampire down on the ground.

Not wasting time, Lea grabbed her bag and hurried to Nightlight.

"You okay, buddy?" Lea asked in concern.

Nightlight rubbed his white hair before smiling and giving a thumbs-up, indicating that he was fine.

That made Lea chuckle, already picking him up and running out the door.

"Thanks for the save, Nightlight. Now, come on! We need to get out of this Nightmare House!" Lea replied, not stopping.

But, before she could make it, the grey werewolf lunged forward and grabbed Nightlight in his mouth while the vampire pinned Lea to the floor on her stomach.

"NO! Let him go!" Lea shouted, not wanting to lose her wooden friend again.

"Then calm down and let us explain everything," said the vampire.

"Why should I listen to you?! For all I know, you're just trying to trick me and have me as your evening supper or something more twisted than that!" Lea argued, nearly close to crying and scared out of her mind.

Sensing her so distraught, the orange dog-like creature laid beside her right side and nuzzled her cheek, whimpering like a little puppy.

Lea looked at the strange creature and gave a tiny smile, appreciating the comforting nuzzle and returned one back.

The grey werewolf sat beside the other side of Lea, placing Nightlight gently on the floor, first, and then gently began licking her cheek while swishing his tail against the palm of her hand.

Lea giggled from all the licking, nuzzling, and tail swishing. "Heeheehee! Hey! That tickles!"

The vampire smiled. "It's what they do to establish trust."

Lea's giggles began to grow into laughter once more, feeling her sadness and fear disappear.

Nightlight tilted his head in confusement but just smiled and sat down, crossing his legs to watch from a distance. He could see that his friend wasn't in any danger.

"You see? We mean you no harm," the vampire said, releasing the teen girl and let the two furry monsters soothe her with cuddles as he stood up.

"Heeheeheehee! They sure are sweet, for a couple of creatures!" Lea tittered, unable to get away from these nuzzling beings.

Once the cuddling was over, Lea took a better look at the creatures beside her while sitting up.

The large orange dog had no eyes, ears, nose, or tail. His posture and movements were somewhat apelike. And his teeth were very defined and stick out of his mouth.

The grey dog's appearance resembled of a werewolf. He had grey fur, a long flowing mane, and a large bushy tail, with three sharp claws on each hand and foot. The inside of his mouth was green.

"Who...or what are you?" Lea asked, a bit curious and amazed.

"Well, to sum it up...we are aliens." said the vampire. "I am Whampire, a Vladat from Anur Transyl. The orange dog is Wildmutt, a Vulpimancer from Vulpin, and the grey wolf is Blitzwolfer, a Loboan from the same planet as I am," he introduced himself and his friends.

"Lea Thompson...Human from Earth," Lea introduced herself, although kind of figured that these guys already knew that.

"Nice to meet you, kid," Blitzwolfer waved a clawed hand and smiled.

Wildmutt just barked in greeting.

After hearing the names, Lea soon came to a realization. She had heard of this story before from her friend, Katherine. An alien vampire that's married to a human woman and lives at a mansion where all different types of aliens come together as a family.

"Hang on...Is this the Grant Mansion? The secret home for aliens and humans?" Lea questioned calmly.

The aliens looked surprised.

"That's...right!" Blitzwolfer said. "But how did you know that?!"

"Would you believe that I heard different tales about you guys?" Lea sheepishly questioned, rubbing her head a little. "I thought they were only just stories. Guess you weren't...Or I really hit my head way too hard and I'm delusional."

"Hmm...let's see if you are," Whampire sat in front of her, giving a mischievous grin. Then, he put his hand on her right side and tickled it. "Do we feel like hallucinations?"

"Hahahahaha! NO!" Lea laughed, trying to get away from the tickling alien. She wrapped her arms around her body to shield herself from any more tickles. "Okay! Okay! You're not hallucinations! This is really happening!" she nearly shrieked with giggles, unable to stop smiling.

Nightlight soon decided to move towards Lea and lifted his arms up to her, indicating that he wants to be lifted up. This made Lea grin, picked him up, and gave him a gentle hug toward her chest.

"I know, Nightlight. I'm surprised as you," Lea said. "Glad that we're not in any real danger."

"For real. So, what's your deal, kid?" Blitzwolfer asked. "And what's with the possessed toy?"

"Nightlight is not possessed. He's my childhood companion that was accidently broken but was fixed by a friend of mine called North and also managed to put a magic crystal inside Nightlight that brings him to life as long as I still believe using the matching crystal on my bracelet," Lea explained, already bringing out her left wrist to show the bracelet with different colored and symbolled jewelry around plus the crystal in the center before putting Nightlight back down on the ground.

"Whoa. And I thought we had all the cool stuff," Whampire said, slightly impressed while looking at the bracelet up close.

Lea chuckled. "I'm sure that you do. Coming from a futuristic alien vampire, you must have your own kind of tools or tech that are as amazing as what I've seen,"

"So, who or what do you believe in to make this guy tick?" Blitzwolfer questioned, sniffing the toy from a few inches away.

Lea blushed a little. The first thing that came to her mind was the one and only...

"Jack Frost," Lea sighed amorously. Realizing what she just said, Lea covered her mouth and looked away in slight embarrassment. "Guardians! I-I meant to say the Guardians of Childhood."

"Really? Who are these Guardians of Childhood exactly?" Whampire asked, rubbing his chin and raising an eyebrow. "We're officially intrigued."

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Lea looked back up to explain. "They're protectors that look after children. Some that are from fairytales and holidays people have heard about. There's Santa Claus, or North, as he's called, the Guardian of Wonder. The Tooth Fairy, the Guardian of Memories. The Easter Bunny, the Guardian of Hope. And Sandman, the Guardian of Dreams. However, there's also another myth that not many people know or believe in much. And I sometimes feel sorry for him," she explained, still feeling a bit down on that last part.

"And I take it Jack Frost is the myth that few people believe in?" Whampire assumed.

Lea nodded her head. "He's the Guardian of Fun. I was always thankful for all the snow and blizzards he makes and wanted to show that he's just as appreciated and important as the other Guardians. It's why I made him a holster strap to hold his staff on when I first met him personally."

"Well, sounds to me that you really like to impress this guy, huh? Huuuh?" Blitzwolfer said teasingly.

Lea's face turned red as a beat. "What?! What are you implying?!"

"What are _you_ implying?" The Werewolf grinned.

Lea opened her mouth, then closed it. "Never mind."

The aliens lightly laughed on Lea being flustered, making her more annoyed.

"Just so you know, whatever you were thinking, it's not going to work. Besides, he's an immortal being that's been around for three-hundred years. Jack and I are only just friends. I'm pretty sure that's all we'll ever be," Lea defended, folding her arms.

"True. But it never hurts to look at them. Huuuuuh?!" Whampire teased, nudging Lea.

"Will you just stop it?!" Lea snipped, covering her burning ears.

The aliens burst out laughing.

Lea groaned, already getting herself up and moving. "Come on, Nightlight. Let's go home and find the Golden Goose Bookstore. I'm sure it's somewhere close in this forest that could lead us back into Brooklyn or somewhere around Central Park," she said, grabbing her socks and snow boots back on.

Nightlight reluctantly followed, feeling worried about his friend unhappy.

The aliens looked perplexed when she mentioned about Brooklyn and Central Park being close by.

"Where exactly are you from?" asked Whampire.

"Um, Brooklyn, New York. Obviously," Lea answered, already tying her boots' shoe laces. "That's pretty much where I still am, right?"

"Uh..." The aliens said in unison, not sure how to explain.

Lea stopped and blinked. "Oh, no. The group 'uh' means no, right?"

They nodded.

Lea sighed, running a hand down her face. "I don't think I'm in New York anymore."

"I'm afraid not, Dorothy," said Blitzwolfer.

Seriously not believing this, Lea began walking around in frustration. "Just great. I went from staying at a bookstore in New York to ending up in a creepy mansion full of monster-like aliens that's who knows where. Me and my dumb curiosity."

"Hey, don't be so down in the mouth," Whampire said. "At least you're among friends here."

"Yeah. Friends who make fun of me for believing in Jack Frost and tease me about crushing on him," Lea lightly argued, gently smacking the back of her head on the wall, slowly going down on the floor to sit and cover her face in a fetal position. "I just want to go home."

Nightlight looked at Lea in sadness, trying to help cheer her up. The little puppet climbed up and hugged her left shoulder. The aliens decided to join in and gave Lea one big hug.

Wherever the blonde-teen was, she knew that she's far away from home.


	2. A Wolf as A Tour Guide

Moments later, Lea decided to stay at the Grant Mansion until she figured out how to get back home to New York.

The blonde-teen walked around the hallways with Nightlight sitting on her right shoulder for company. She had her blue jacket tied around her waist, her gloves and earmuffs in both pockets of her coat, and placed her scarf in her backpack that was left behind in the living room.

"None of this makes sense, Nightlight. Why would Kate have a magic snowglobe at her desk? And of all places, why did it bring me here?" Lea asked, getting upset.

Nightlight shrugged his shoulders, saying he's not sure either.

"Well, at least Whampire was kind enough to let me stay here for a bit. Hopefully, we can find a way back home before nightfall,"

"Can't catch-Omphf!"

Abruptly, Lea found herself on her rear end and Nightlight thrown off from her shoulder. Getting her senses back, she looked up to see two little girls young than her. One girl had blonde hair with a rose on it, green eyes, and wore a pink flower dress. The other girl appeared to be seven years old, had medium length brown hair and eyes, wearing a bright purple t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

"Sorry, didn't mean to...Who are you?" the young blonde haired girl asked with the little brunette ducking behind her.

"Oh, hello. I'm Lea," The blonde teen politely introduced herself while getting back up. "I'm a guest here by Whampire, Wildmutt, and Blitzwolfer. What about you girls?"

"Dad...gave you permission?" the brown haired girl asked cautiously while clutching her necklace.

"That's right. Which one is your father?" Lea asked, lowering herself to be eye-leveled with the little girl.

"Sis, everything okay?" a deeper voice said from behind Lea.

Lea turned to meet a boy that was around the same age as her. He appeared to have tanned skin with light scars on his arms, copper colored hair, and blue eyes. For attire, he had on a grey t-shirt, blue cargo jeans, hiking boots, and a red bandana around his arm. He also seemed almost as good looking as Jack Frost...Almost.

"Uh...hi?" Lea replied, giving a shy wave on her hand.

"Hey," the boy said hesitantly, still being very rigid.

"She said dad let her in," the brown-haired girl said, as she grabbed the little blonde girl's arm gently and moved behind the boy.

"Whampire let you in?" the boy asked, his eyes hard for a moment.

"Well, technically, Blitzwolfer and Wildmutt let me in while I was running away from them outside," Lea corrected and explained, rubbing her neck sheepishly while standing up. "I ended up crashing into a tree when I was going full speed down a hill using a hollow log as a snowboard and fell unconscious. Next thing I knew, after I woke up, I ended up in the living room being showered with alien doggie kisses and tickles. That's when your dad showed up with some drinks and I freaked out after seeing he was a vampire."

The male teen held her gaze for a moment longer before his facial features lightened up.

"Sorry for the suspicion. We're told to be cautious when we don't recognize anyone. Name's Sage," the boy teen said, offering his hand.

"Lea," she said while shaking Sage's hand, smiling back. "And I understand your concern. It's something my parents keep telling me while going by myself on the streets."

Sage nodded. "This is my sister, Megan, and my cousin, Summer," he introduced the little brunette and blonde girl.

"Nice to meet you all," Lea greeted, suddenly realizing that she's missing someone and looked around. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have seen an eleven inched boy made of wood that's light blue, has white hair, and carries a diamonded spear, would you?"

"Is... _this_ what you're looking for?" the girl named Summer asked, holding up Nightlight in her arms.

"Yep. That's him," Lea grinned, placing a hand on her hips and used the other to wave an index finger at him. "Nightlight, you little rascal. I told you not to leave out of my sights while we're here."

Sage watched as the toy moved, looking both worried and annoyed at what Lea said.

"I don't think he likes being scolded," Sage said.

Lea chuckled. "I'm just messing with him. Nightlight knows that and is doing the same with me," she explained to Sage before looking back at Nightlight. "I'm glad you're still okay, buddy."

Nightlight bowed his head, then held up his hands for Lea to pick him up.

Sage smiled. "Well, looks like you two are two peas in a pod."

"You could say that," Lea replied, picking Nightlight back up and held him caringly. "Nightlight has been my best friend since childhood. I can't imagine my life without him."

Nightlight nodded his head in agreement, giving another hug to Lea that made her bracelet and himself glow a little.

Sage smiled. "I have something like that. Though, it's a bit different than Nightlight here."

Lea looked up to Sage in wonder. "You do? What or who is it? Also, you're not weirded out about a living toy or me having something that's for little kids?" she questioned, considering most teens would make fun of her if they knew she kept a baby toy around at her age.

Sage shrugged. "It's no weirder than a house full of aliens. Honestly, if he makes you feel happy, then who am I to judge? As for my thing, it's...a bit more difficult to explain."

"Um, okay...So, what do you, Megan, and Summer do for fun around here?" Lea asked.

Sage chuckled, as he put his arms around the girls. "Question should be what _don't_ we do around here? Though, I believe my sis and niece were just playing the most popular game of the Grant Mansion."

Megan and Summer began to wiggle anxiously in his arms, as he held them close.

Lea couldn't help but raise an eye brow in curiosity. "And what, may I ask, is this popular game you're referring to?"

"Tickle Tag!" Sage exclaimed loudly, as he tickled the girls before racing off down the hall.

"NOHOHOHOHOHO, SAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAGE! NO FAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAIR!" Megan laughed, before chasing after him.

Lea just smiled, chuckling a little while following her new friends from behind before lightly shaking her head. "Does everyone in this mansion use tickling a lot around here?" she asked Nightlight, whom was still being carried by her.

The wooden toy shrugged, thinking it's a definite maybe.

"Yeah, I think so, too," Lea nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

The game of Tickle Tag went all over the Grant Mansion. From Sage diving over a bed to escape Megan from tickling him, to Lea hiding behind a curtain to avoid Summer. Nightlight, seeing that his human girl was getting to know some new friends, decided to sat near the window to chill and let Lea have her fun. The game had come to an end when Sage became it and was chasing Lea through the halls. However, what neither of them noticed, as they reached the top of the stairs, was a lump in the rug, causing Lea to trip and began to fall down.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" she screamed.

Sage, acting on instinct, shifted to his wolf form and ducked underneath Lea so she landed on his massive furry back, before leaping down the rest of the stairs to land safely at the bottom.

"Lea, you alright?" Sage asked, his voice slightly deeper in his wolf form.

"I...think so," Lea said, slowly processing on what just happened while looking down at a wolf with grey and white fur colors. "Sage?! Is that actually you?!"

Sage chuckled, as he wagged his tail. "Yeah, its me."

"No way!" Lea exclaimed in awe, already getting off to study him more. "Are you some kind of alien werewolf or hybrid mutant or something like that?!"

Sage laughed. "Quit thinking sci-fi horror fiction. My kind are known as Wolfbloods. We've lived among human kind since the first man lit the first fire."

Lea blushed sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck. "Ohhhh...Yeah, that makes much more sense. Sorry," she apologized, chuckling nervously.

Sage smiled, nuzzling her hand with his muzzle. "Hey, no hard feelings. I know I'm quite the sight."

"I'll say. I've seen crazier things before coming here, but this is beyond something else! And I mean it in a good way," Lea admitted, now petting Sage's soft head and back.

Sage smiled, leaning into the touch. "No harm done. I'm used to it. Though, I bet you have questions."

"Just a few. As a Wolfblood, what other abilities do you have? ...Besides shifting from human to wolf. Are there any more of you here, or other creatures that do what you do but differently? How long have you known you could do that?"

Sage chuckled. "That's a few?" he asked in a joking manor, before leading Lea to the nearby couches where they sat. Or, in Sage's case, laid on. "Well, Wolfbloods have many different skills. One that is the most common is summoning the wind when we howl or are in need of it. Wolfbloods are just one kind of breed of what you know as shapeshifters. There are others, like Foxbloods and Deerbloods. To the rarer, Tiger and Polarbloods. All shapeshifters can call on an element of nature, but it just depends on what you're born. As for how long I've known, well, I've known since I was very little. Most blood families tell their children as soon as they can understand. So, sometimes five years, sometimes older."

"Whoa. Incredible!" Lea said in amazement. "I'm guessing you also get to go see different things all the time, as a Wolfblood. Even go on many adventures."

Sage smiled. "The adventures kind of come to me. As for seeing amazing and different things, it basically comes with the territory, but I'm simply another college student of Staybrook, California."

Lea blinked on that last part. "Hang on. You mean to tell me that I'm somewhere in California? As in on the other side of the states away from New York?"

Sage smiled. "Well, yeah. Unless you're from an alternate universe New York."

"Oh, man. That snow globe took me half across the states to probably a different universe?! And I thought going to the North Pole meeting yetis and the Guardians was insane," Lea replied, bewildered while placing a left hand on her forehead.

Sage cocked his head. "Guardians? You mean the Guardians of Hope, Wonder, Fun, Memories, and Dreams?" Sage asked.

Lea quickly turned her head to Sage in shock. "You know the Guardians of Childhood, too?! Including Jack Frost!?"

Sage shrugged his fur shoulders. "Mom and my aunt, Rachel, met him a couple of times. Along with meeting the other Guardians once. Mostly, I've just heard the stories and read the books to the younger members of the family."

"Your mom and aunt really have met Jack Frost before?! That's beyond cool!" Lea replied with excitement, suddenly realizing something. "Sage, out of curiosity, do the books you read to the little ones here involving the Guardians happen to be written by the same author named M.G. Joyce?"

Sage cocked his head to the side again but nodded. "Yeah. Some of the kids think they're a little old fashioned, but they love hearing the stories before bed or nap time."

Lea faced her head forward, seriously lost in thought. Why would a not-so-famous author give away books to people on learning about the Guardians of Childhood while, at the same time, do the same involving the Grant Mansion? How could he possibly have known about everyone's history and write them as stories? And how does this connect to the snow globe she found at Kate's bookstore?

"Sage...have you or your family ever met the author personally? Where exactly did your family get these books?" Lea asked, still looking away from the Wolfblood.

Sage thought for a moment. "Well, as far as meeting the author, I'm not completely sure. As for where the books came from, my great uncles run a shelter for the homeless and got a donation of books. Aunt Rachel saw the titles and picked out the books for the Mansion."

"Well, this is gonna sound crazy, but back home where I live, there's a bookstore where I not only find tales involving the Guardians, but also stories involving the Grant Mansion," Lea explained. "And North told me once that no one on earth is supposed to know the real truth about the Guardians of Childhood. Including the background of how Jack Frost came to be."

Sage's tail twitched. "The Grant Mansion secret is supposed to be hidden, as well."

"Yeah, I figured. But I wouldn't worry too much about that. That book I read about your home never specifically said where it was. Not to mention that the bookstore I mentioned before isn't really famous nor known on the map where I live. And my best friend, Katherine, works there and told me the author only publishes his work there because he doesn't trust anyone in getting their hands on what he makes," Lea explained.

Sage's fur bristled. "Doesn't this sound a little fishy to you? I mean, there are so many questions in between those statements that need to be answered."

"I know. Even I'm still having a hard time understanding all of this. Along with the crazy the fact that some magic snow globe brought me here while I was reading the story book about the Grant Mansion at Kate's working desk she left wide open when going out for some emergency she had to take care of," Lea agreed, equally confused on the subject.

Sage's ears shot straight up. "Wait, did you say 'snow globe'?"

"Yes. A magic snow globe. Gold colored and didn't have anything inside," Lea answered, placing her hands on her face while running them down. "I get it. I sound like a crazy person. Even I wouldn't believe me."

Sage stood up, jumping off the couch. "Follow me."

A bit hesitant, Lea stood up and followed Sage.

The two went upstairs to the bedroom floor. Then, after a few halls, Sage stopped and looked up above at the attic entrance. Leaping up, Sage caught the rope with his teeth and pulled the stairs down. With ease, Sage leapt up the stairs and waited at the attic entrance for Lea.

The blonde-teen climbed up the stairs to find herself in a dusty old attic that's nearly as terrifying as the main entrance to the Grant Mansion itself. She saw many boxes stacked, a dusty old mattress, a full-length mirror, a circular window, some spider webs all over, and so on. It's like the attic was abandoned for hundreds or more years.

"Um, Sage? Any particular reason why we're in here?" Lea asked, having her face caught on a web and tried to get it out of her face. "GAH, GROSS! Pffft! Ew, ew, nasty! I think some of it went into my mouth!" she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

Sage looked back at her. "There's something I need to show you," he said, before disappearing into the mountains of boxes.

After getting the webs off, Lea slowly tried following behind the giant mountains of boxes. She did her best not to knock any of them down. Otherwise, they will collapse on top of her with who knows how much they weigh in crushing the blonde-teen.

Sage disappeared around a corner for a minute, before returning slightly larger with something in his mouth. Gently, he offered it to Lea, who became shocked at the sight of what Sage had found.

It was the exact version of the magic snow globe Lea found at the Golden Goose Bookstore!

"This...this is unbelievable! That's the very same snow globe that got me here!" Lea exclaimed in utter disbelief. "Wha-how?!"

Sage shrugged. "I noticed it the last time I was helping mom and my aunt up here. They had no idea where it came from."

Lea looked at the snow globe again before looking at Sage. "Well, however it got here, this is my ticket back home. Thank you, Sage," she said, smiling before going down and hugging the Wolfblood in happiness.

Sage smiled, nuzzling her hair. "Your welcome. But do you know how to work that thing?"

"Of course...I don't," Lea answered, after hugging Sage. "I'm not even sure how I managed to make it work going from the Golden Goose bookstore to somewhere at a forest near the Grant Mansion."

"Hmmm…maybe my Uncle X can help," Sage said outloud while in careful thought.

"Okay...Who's Uncle X?" Lea asked, unsure of who and what Sage is talking about.

"Uncle X-or Alien X-is another one of the aliens that live here. He's also one of the most powerful ones. He could probably help with jumpstarting this transportation snow globe," Sage said, nudging the snow globe.

"How powerful are we talking here about you uncle?" Lea questioned, a bit weary on this.

"Well...let's just say that he's so powerful, that his kind are more often to not stay out of the way and have super strict rules about interfering with other species," Sage replied, as me moved to the hatch door.

Lea gulped. "Well, nobody said that this adventure would be easy."

Sage looked back at Lea. "Hey, don't worry. Uncle X maybe crazy strong, but he's as gentle as a wolf cub."

"If you say that he is, then I believe you. But I'm just gonna keep my distance and not antagonize your uncle, okay?" Lea replied, slowly walking forward anxiously. "Maybe I should get Nightlight."

Sage turned and nuzzled Lea. "Don't worry. Uncle X is great. You'll love him. Now, come on. He lives on the other side of the attic," Sage said, hopping down the hatch door.

Sighing, Lea followed along. She still became worried on what Alien X would look and be like. For all she knew, he could be scarier and possibly way more dangerous than the Boogie Man himself.

Reaching another hatch door, Sage sat underneath and gave a bark.

"Uncle X! Can we come up, please?" Sage asked.

Lea held on to the snow globe tightly to her chest, feeling goosebumps running down her skin.

The hatch glowed, for a moment, before the stairs dropped down.

"Come on up, Sage," a deep voice called.

Sage wagged his tail before jumping up the staircase.

Taking a deep breath and gently letting it out, Lea calmed down and continued following Sage.

"Hey, Uncle X," Sage said, trotting over to a star-like sky alien rubbing his head against his hand.

Alien X then looked at Lea, as she appeared from the floor below. "And who is this?"

Lea became amazed when seeing Alien X. He was not as terrifying as she had thought. He actually looked incredible. Alien X appeared as a humanoid-like alien with three horns on his forehead and green eyes. He was all black with white stars printed all over him and some white on his fingers.

"Whoa..." she muttered under her breath, unable to blink her wide eyes.

Sage chuckled. "This is Lea. Dad found her and brought her here."

"Again, not your dad who chased me around a snowy hill top. It was your other uncles that found and brought me here," Lea corrected. "Your father was the one who let me stay here."

"Ah, and I see you're not originally from here," Alien X said with a smile in his eyes, as he stroked Sage's neck.

"Well, no. I'm actually from New York," Lea explained honestly. "How I got here is a bit complicated. It's hard to understand."

"You traveled through a portal to another dimension. One that, in your world, is a book," Alien X said simply.

Lea dropped her jaw in disbelief, seriously not expecting that one.

"Yeah...How did you even manage to know and guess all of that right?" she asked, still utterly shocked.

"You have particles from the portal that you traveled through stuck to your clothes. Some of my species have traveled to your dimension to study it," Alien X said.

"So the snow globe brought me to a parallel universe? How is that even possibly? And why end up here of all places?" Lea questioned.

"Portals can happen when unknown energy is charged into an object, like a snow globe," Alien X explained.

"It still doesn't explain how and why I ended up near the Grant Mansion. I was at a bookstore to see a friend who works there, saw an opened book about this place, was reading it on the counter and then I heard a book fell that startled me and accidentally knocked over a snow globe next to the book that looks exactly like this one that created the portal bringing me here," Lea elaborated, lifting up the mini globe in her hands.

"Could be that the two crashes started a chain reaction that brought you here," Sage suggested.

"But that was all accidental. I wasn't expecting any of this. And I don't even know how this snow globe thing works or if it can take me home," Lea said, secretly getting frustrated on a few other unanswered questions in her mind.

"Getting you home would be a simple task for me to take you," Alien X said.

"You can actually do that?" Lea asked, slowly looking at the snow globe in her hands before back to the Celestialsapien.

"Yes, I can. But how about spending the day with us, first?" Alien X asked with a smile.

Lea couldn't help but smile at that. "I honestly don't have anything else to do for a bit. And it would be nice to know the Grant Mansion better. Along with the rest of the residents that live here before I leave soon. So, I don't see why not."

Sage smiled. "Great. I can give you the tour and you can ask as many questions as you like,"

"Of course. Maybe, if we still have time, I could tell you and the children that live here the story of how I met Jack Frost and the Guardians of Childhood," Lea recommended.

"They'd love that. We try to have a story time for the little ones before their naptime," Sage said, his tail thumping on the ground.

"Great. Also, what should I do with this?" Lea asked, holding up the snow globe in her hands.

"I can keep this up here where it will be safe until you're ready to go home," Alien X said with a smile in his eyes.

"Fair enough. Thanks, Alien X," Lea replied, handing the Celestialsapien the snow globe directly at his palmed starry white hand.

Alien X smiled. "You're welcome. I'll be up here most of the day so, when you're ready, I'll be here."

Lea nodded her head, already leaving with Sage.

"So, what do you want to know slash do first?" Sage asked, wagging his tail.

"Not sure. I'm fine with whatever you want to do," Lea replied happily.

"Well, how about I show you the pool and lounge?" Sage proposed.

"Sure. I would love to," Lea grinned at that.


	3. A Dark Shadow's Rise

As they walked down the halls, Sage explained to Lea on how the house got its haunted reputation and how they had all come to be there.

"Wow. You and your family sure know how to keep high alert when protecting yourselves and your home," Lea replied, very impressed. "I can actually relate to that."

"Well, when you have both native and non-native people attacking, being on guard is a must," Sage said, as they entered the pool area.

"That's understandable," Lea agreed already walking on the edge.

Just then, Lea saw something that brought her attention. She noticed the exact same black bird she witnessed in the streets of New York around morning that was now outside a window near the pool, sitting on a branch. Lea was able to see the bird with glowing golden eyes looking straight at her. Besides its cold gaze, Lea noticed the bird's odd coat shining in black velvet colored. Instead of feathers, it was covered with what looked like…sand. Thin line trails of it were flowing parts of the bird's entire body.

This nearly reminded her of the Guardian of Dream's sand work. Only his was bright gold and pleasant than that creature. Whatever that bird was, it gave Lea a little chill up her spine.

Sage followed her gaze and gave a growl, before barking loudly and sending the bird flying.

"That wasn't a normal raven," Sage growled.

"No...And what's freakier is that I saw that thing earlier this morning before I got to the bookstore back home," Lea replied, looking at Sage. "You don't think it somehow followed me, do you?"

Sage's hackles raised. "Maybe, but best we can do is get the house defenses up. Come on, I'll show you to the lab."

Lea hurried while keeping her eyes outside for any sign of that weird bird again. "I'll get my hockey stick and Nightlight on the way."

Sage nodded but stopped, looking out the window. "I'm going to call the kids in."

"You mean they're outside with who knows what's out there?!" Lea questioned after stopping with Sage, seriously growing concerned. "Go, then! If something happens, I'll be sure to hurry and help," she directed, before leaving opposite to where Sage was heading.

Sage stepped out onto the front porch and gave a loud howl. The kids turned from where they were playing and raced inside.

Meanwhile, Lea hurried to find her childhood companion.

"Nightlight!? Where are you, buddy?! We got a situation!" Lea exclaimed, seeing her backpack and hockey stick in the living room but no Nightlight.

Suddenly, Lea heard some growling behind her.

"Sage? Is that you or your uncles?" Lea called out, slowly looking behind her.

Abruptly, a dark shadow stepped into her vision. It was a wolf of dark desire!

Stepping back, Lea saw that it had gold eyes and sand-like skin exactly similar to the bird. Realizing this was not Sage nor one of his family members, she slowly moved towards her bag while not leaving her eyes off the wolf.

When the Nightmare Wolf growled and tried to pounce on her, Lea quickly ducked and slide towards her backpack to snatch out her hockey stick and hockey pucks.

She saw the wolf turning around, swiftly lunging towards the blonde teen again. Holding a tight grip, Lea stood up, tossed one puck in the air, and smacked it with her stick that made a direct hit on the shadow.

The black creature dispersed into a black substance, causing Lea to get closer to study it.

"What kind of creature was that? And where are these creepy sand things coming from?" Lea questioned herself in confusement while crouching down. She wasn't sure on whether to touch it or not.

Soon, another snarl came to her ear, as another sand wolf stalked her from behind.

"LEA, DOWN!" Sage shouted, as leapt at the same time the sand wolf did and smashed into it with full force.

Hearing her friend's voice, Lea immediately ducked herself into the ground.

Sage snarled as he and the other wolf tussled. Eventually, Sage leapt back and released a massive howl that brought the wind to his aid, smashing the sand wolf away to a wall.

"Lea, you alright?" Sage asked, panting.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," Lea assured, slowly getting up. "What about you? Are the kids safe?"

Sage nodded, nudging into her hands. "We got them into the safe room. Some of the adults are with them," he said, shaking the sand from his fur.

"Any chance you saw Nightlight in there with the kids to calm them down for comfort?" Lea questioned in slight worry.

Sage shook his head. "No. The kids all had their relaxing items, but I didn't see Nightlight."

"Oh, boy," Lea muttered. "Nightlight would never leave his position unless something was wrong. I can't leave without him."

"Okay, let's not panic. He might have gone looking for you. Let's just go and–".

Just then, Sage was interrupted when maniacal laughter echoed all over the room.

"The cute little girl missing her toy. Is she worried that she'll have...nightmares?" a sinister voice hissed.

Lea stood still, not liking the sound of that.

"Sage...Please tell me you heard that," Lea replied, keeping a firm grip on her hockey stick.

Sage growled, as he circled protectively around Lea.

"One little girl all alone. No magic of friendship, hope, love, fun, or wonder to protect her," the voice continued, making fun of Lea being helpless.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Lea demanded, keeping her hockey stick close in a defense stance. "What have you done with Nightlight!?"

"Nightlight? Oh, do you mean this?" Abruptly, out of the shadows, a hand appeared with Nightlight clutched tight within its grasp.

The little toy was struggling to get out of this evil creature's grasp with no success.

"Nightlight!" Lea gasped, her eyes turning from alarmed to angry. "Let him go!"

"Oh, I don't think so..." the hand disappeared with Nightlight.

Sage snarled, releasing a large howl that sent wind into a massive tornado.

"Oh, huff and puff all you like. It won't work on me," the voice remarked, as that tornado slowly diminished.

"Who are you!? Why are you doing this?! Quit hiding like a coward and show your cruel face already!" Lea demanded, having enough of this and just wants her sweet Nightlight back.

She didn't matter who or what she was up against. Lea hated bullies like this creep trying to torment her and the Grant Mansion family.

Sage growled before a thought came to him, making his eyes narrow.

"You think we're afraid of you, Pitch Black? Or should I say, Boogie Man!" Sage snarled.

Suddenly, a mound of sand appeared from the middle of the room, morphing into a tall spider-like man.

Pitch Black appeared tall, lithe, and dark. He had silver-golden yellow eyes, dull pale-gray skin, and glossy black hair styled to come out as slick, sharp spikes from the back of his head. He wore a long, black robe with a v-neck line and shadows running down his arms, obscuring his body-like a shadow. The bottom half appeared to be just more black sand in the form of a spider's body to support his scary demeanor.

In his right hand, he had Nightlight in his grasp. The toy was still struggling with his feet moving around, trying to kick The Nightmare King.

"Well done. You got my name right," Pitch Black chuckled darkly.

"You're Pitch Black!?" Lea questioned, personally surprised in meeting the Boogie Man right now. "But how?! The Guardians defeated you from spreading fear all over the world!"

"Well, they'll always be fear. Always be shadow. Always be darkness," Pitch Black said, as he began to circle Lea and Sage.

"What are you even doing here? This isn't even your dimensional world," Lea pointed out, not leaving her glaring gaze at the creepy shadow-like spider being.

Sage growled. "You certainly aren't welcomed in this house."

"How impolite. I was just visiting," Pitch Black said, still circling while lifting up Nightlight. "I also found a remarkable little toy."

"Nightlight doesn't belong to you! He belongs to me!" Lea remarked. "Give him back right now or else!"

"Awww, is the little girl throwing a tantrum? Poor baby," Pitch Black sneered, mocking the blonde teen.

Sage stood still, watching Pitch carefully. _Not yet. Not yet,_ Sage thought to himself.

"Why are you even doing this? How could you be such a bully? Acting all tough yet actually just a coward?" Lea replied, seriously getting annoyed.

"Oh, I'm no coward. I just know how to have fun," Pitch Black said with a smirk as he soon stopped back where he started and faced his two opponents.

Sage lowered himself a little more slowly, as he readied for the right moment.

"Scaring people and threatening them with what they care about is considered fun to you!? That's just low," Lea glared, tightening her grab on the hockey stick. "The only one who knows the definition and true meaning of fun is Jack Frost."

"Jack Frost? The little nobody who couldn't even remember who he was? Ha! Yes, what an amazing Guardian he is. Tempted by his own past and giving up a chance to defeat me," Pitch said, remembering very well of his encounter with the Winter Spirit.

"Because you tried to trick and manipulate him! At least he made the right choice in not joining you," Lea remarked.

That struck a nerve on the Boogie Man. It was one reminder that he did not like to hear from anyone. Pitch tried to convince Jack Frost in being his ally so they could spread fear together and make kids believe in them. But Jack refused, for having kids fear him was something he _didn't_ want.

"You, little girl, need to learn some manners," Pitch growled with a glare, stalking forward and getting into Lea's face to reveal his silver-golden yellow eyes resembling an eclipse.

 **NOW!** Sage snarled, lunging at Pitch's right hand to rescue Nightlight, only to come up empty when Pitch jumped back.

Following her wolf friend's lead, Lea went for the same hand by grabbing and tossing another hockey puck up before hitting it with her stick towards that spooky hand.

When that happened, Nightlight was freed from Pitch's hard grip. He slid down the evil spider-like sand creature and hurried by Lea's side.

"Nightlight!" Lea exclaimed happily, going down and picking him up lovingly with a hug. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay. Did he hurt you?"

Nightlight shook his head, grinning and hugging back.

From that moment, Lea's crystal bracelet and Nightlight glowed brightly than ever. It was so strong, that it caused Pitch to hiss in pain. The light from those two seemed to slowly make his sand smoke and disintegrate. Similar to a vampire being exposed to light...Or, in Sage's opinion, his Vladat father or an evil Ectonurite having that same reaction with sunlight.

Sage snarled. "Go back to your shadows and loneliness, Pitch. You are not welcomed here."

Pitch stared at the three, for a moment, before smiling. "As you wish," The Nightmare King said, before disappearing back into the shadows without a single trace.

Once he disappeared, so did Lea and Nightlight's glowing ability.

"Sage, are you okay?" Lea asked in concern.

Sage growled, as his body shook angrily. "No...no, I'm not."

"Because of Pitch? I'm really sorry, Sage," Lea apologized, walking over towards her upset wolf friend. "This is all my fault."

Sage growled. "Don't do that...Don't blame yourself for this when it's not your fault."

"But it is. I was the one who led the Boogie Man here and invade your home. If I didn't find that stupid snow globe, your family would have been safe right now," Lea admitted sadly, seriously feeling guilty.

Sage sighed, before pouncing on Lea and forcing her to the ground where he took her hockey stick and threw it out of reach.

"No, it isn't. Evil always tries to take away the light. Don't give Pitch that satisfaction. Say you won't or I won't get off you," Sage said, sternly.

Sighing, Lea nodded her head. "Okay, I won't."

"Swear it," Sage said, barking.

"I swear I won't let Pitch get the best of me!" Lea promised, nearly shouting in irritation.

Sage nodded. "Good. Now, let's go check on my family," he said, getting off.

"Right behind you," Lea called out, already getting her things and placing Nightlight on her left shoulder.

Although she promised, Lea still couldn't help but feel responsible for bringing Pitch Black to an innocent home full of aliens and humans just to torment them with fear in becoming stronger.

Nightlight noticed and gave a comforting pat on the back of her neck, telling her not to think like that.

"I know, Nightlight. I'm aware of my promise. But my heart still aches in pain of that horrible monster trying to hurt this family because of me," Lea explained, letting out a sad sigh while walking. "As soon as we check on everyone, we'll find Alien X and leave...Probably forever."

Unbeknownst to her, Sage had heard everything.

 _Looks like someone needs the Grant Mansion special,_ Sage thought to himself.

Lea eventually caught up to Sage, trying give her best smile. "Sorry for the long wait. Had to double check I had everything. I'm ready now,"

Sage smiled, as he led the way down into the To'Kustar part of the Mansion.

"Um, Sage? Where are we going?" Lea asked, scanning around the place.

Sage stopped, looking back at Lea. "The safe room is one of my Uncles' bedrooms underneath the Mansion. It's the safest place and largest place," He said, moving to a nearby desk and pushing the button on the wall.

"Remind me again, how many uncles do you have? Also, which one has such a big room?" Lea questioned.

Sage stepped back, as the office chair moved back, revealing a slide in the floor.

"Well, let me put it this way. We have a massive wedding coming up and have over sixty couples getting wedded on the same day," Sage said, as he moved to the slide's entrance.

"Over sixty-couples?! Wow. That is a lot," Lea replied, seriously amazed. "Well, then again, it is supposed to be a huge family."

"Yeah. Anyway, the safe room is down here. Come on," Sage said, sitting down.

Lea nodded her head before looking at Nightlight. "Better hold on tight. This could be a fast and bumpy ride," she advised her childhood companion.

Nightlight, understanding Lea's concern, jumped inside her backpack and was sticking half of his lower body inside so he can watch while being secured.

Sage pushed off, disappearing down the dark slide.

"Ready?" Lea asked Nightlight, whom nodded his head. "Okay. Here we go!"

In less than a second, Lea sat down and pushed her weight forward to go down the slide.

"WOOHOOOOO!" Lea screamed and laughed, seriously having some fun.

Sage landed lightly on his feet on the padded bed before moving out of the way, as Lea came tumbling down and landing a heavily on the soft quilt.

"You good?" Sage asked.

"I'm okay," Lea assured, getting herself up to find that this wasn't solid ground. "Uh, Sage? What is this?"

"Well, this is my uncle's bed," Sage said calmly.

"Bed?!" Lea gasped when looking at her surroundings better. She was on top of a bed. A GIGANTIC bed! "You mean...your uncle is a...a giant?!"

"Sage? Is that you?" a deep voice called.

Sage wagged his tail. "Yeah, Way Big! It's me and a friend! The house is secure!"

"Yeah, Sage and I took care of the problem. It's safe now," Lea called out, looking around for the giant alien called Way Big. She even signaled Nightlight to go back inside the bag, just in case. Although reluctant, the little toy did just that and closed the zipper on top of him.

Soon, heavy walking shook the room as a tall, white and red alien with a red head crest walked in, looking immensely relieved.

In Lea's point of view, Way Big was a white colossal humanoid creature with a large fin on his head that was red in the front and black on the back. He had green eyes along with metallic one eyes on his cheeks, three red lines on his black neck, red blade-like growths on his shoulders and spikes on his waist. He even had white arms with red fins coming out of them along with two black stripes on each arm, four fingers on each of his fingerless gloved hands, and boot-like feet that were red and white with black soles.

"What attacked?" Way Big asked, going down on one knee to see them better.

"Pitch Black," Sage growled.

Lea would be able to say something on Sage's account, if she wasn't completely stunned on Way Big's appearance. Her eyes were nearly wide as her gaped shocked mouth.

Way Big sighed. "Well, at least the danger passed. Everyone is having some soup and tea to calm down. The kids are having warm milk."

Sage nodded. "Good."

"Uhhh..." Lea managed to say, still shocked out of her mind. "Y-y-your Sage's uncle, Way Big?"

Way Big smiled. "Yes, and you must be Lea. Alien X has said a lot about you."

Lea finally shook out of her paralyzed state from that. "He has? Like what?" She questioned, not sure if it's good things about her or not.

"Just how beautiful, strong, and courageous you are," Way Big said, offering his hand to Sage, who shifted to human form and climbed on.

"Oh. That's...very flattering. Thanks," Lea sheepishly said, rubbing the back of her neck while climbing up Way Big's hand.

"Come and have something to eat. Your parents have been worried, Sage. And you certainly need to relax after what happened, Lea," Way Big said, already moving.

"Okay. But I'll probably not stay too long. I need to find Alien X and ask him to take me home," Lea replied gently.

Sage looked at Lea worriedly. "What about Pitch? He could go after you again."

"I can handle him. I know a few friends back home who could look after me and help defeat this Nightmare King, like last time," Lea assured, already getting off when Way Big stopped and lowered his hand down on the ground. "Besides, you and your family wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't messed with that stupid snow globe and dropped here for Pitch to find you all."

Sage glared at the blonde teen. "Lea, you promised," he said in a warning tone.

"I know what I promised!" Lea nearly shouted, surprising Sage and Way Big, whom decided to let them sort this on their own and walked away. "But it doesn't change anything! Pitch already knows where you live, and he'll probably come back to hurt you and everyone in here! I don't deserve being in your hospitality any longer, after what happened! Just take me to Alien X and send me home already, okay!?"

"I'm afraid that will be slightly more difficult now, Lea," Alien X said, appearing into the room.

"What do you mean?" Lea asked, not liking the tone in his voice.

"The snow globe...it's gone." Alien X answered.

"What?!" the blonde teen exclaimed.

"Pitch must have snatched it while you were helping get everyone to safety," Sage supplied.

Alien X nodded. "I'm sorry, Lea. I truly am."

"It wasn't your fault, Alien X," Lea assured. "You were just trying to protect the family. I never should have been here for Pitch to invade your home,"

Sage growled again, becoming angry that Lea kept repeating what she promised not to believe.

"Look, I don't need the snow globe. You said it yourself that you're the most powerful alien in this family. You can just take me home right now and I'll be on my way to find the Guardians so I can warn them and get that snow globe back or something like that," Lea explained.

Sage discreetly moved away, heading for the stairs quickly and quietly. He decided that he would deal with Pitch.

"Yes, I can take you home," Alien X said. "However, are you sure that the globe won't be a problem for us?"

"...I'm not entirely sure. What I am sure is that I already made enough trouble here. The least I can do is try to fix it," Lea reasoned. "You all are such a good family. I can't risk putting anyone else in danger,"

Alien X nodded. "You should at least say goodbye."

Lea sighed. "Okay...I'll do that. Starting with-" she was cut short when seeing that her wolf friend was nowhere in sight. "Wait, where's Sage?!"

Alien X looked around before closing his eyes and concentrating. A moment later, they opened.

"He's heading towards darkness,"

Lea's eyes went wide, realizing what Alien X meant by that.

"Pitch Black," she deduced, fearing the worst. "No, no, no! Alien X, you have to take me to Sage! Please! He won't survive by himself with the Boogie Man!"

"Hold onto my hand," Alien X instructed, bringing out his left hand.

Not hesitating, Lea let out her right hand and held on to Alien X's. In less than second before she could react, Lea and Alien X vanished from where they were standing.


	4. Friends You Can Count On

Soon, the Grant Mansion disappeared and a wide-open field took its place in Lea and Alien X's view. The grass whipped around with the slight breeze that ran through it. Lea noticed that she and Alien X were in an area where it wasn't cold enough for the snow to stay. It actually felt slightly warmer than before. Probably because it had been a few hours of daylight and warmth that passed since she got here.

 **SNARL! GROWL!**

It was then that Alien X and Lea spotted Sage, whom was in his wolf form, stalking around Pitch Black, whom carried a massive death scythe. The Boogie Man seemed to be without his sand-like spider body on this fight. He tried to slash and hit Sage with it, only for him to miss every time. Good thing Sage was fast in avoiding the Boogie Man's attacks.

"Oh, no. Sage!" Lea cried, taking out her hockey stick to prepare for battle. "We got to help him!"

"Lea, wait!" Alien X said, holding her back.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Your nephew is in trouble and you're not gonna help me protect him!?" Lea questioned, trying to get out of the Celestialsapien's grip on her.

"Wait and watch," Alien X instructed.

"Huh?" Lea was confused, stopping her struggle. She looked in front of her to observe Sage still circling Pitch, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Sage remained calm, as he circled. However, unknown to everyone else, in the tall grass was a hidden secret. At least, to everyone else except the Wolfblood. Time seemed to stand still and the only movement was the grass. Then, abruptly, just at the moment, the wind stopped. Multiple blurs of fur launched from the grass, snarling and barking as they clamped down onto Pitch. They were a pack of dogs!

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The Boogie Man screamed from that unexpected attack.

"What? I...I don't believe it," Lea muttered in surprise, now feeling Alien X let go of her. "Guess I underestimated Sage."

"Sage is the leader of all the dogs here in Staybrook. He is known as the Alpha of the group. He keeps everyone happy and settled. However, when danger arises, he commands with hardness and respect, going through every situation and countering for each one," Alien X explained, as Sage walked up to stand over Pitch.

From a distance, they couldn't hear what the Wolfblood said to the Master of Nightmares. But, from the look on Pitch's face, Sage had said something that was not too welcoming. The grey and white wolf then reached down, grabbing the snow globe before motioning for the dogs to let him go. Where, instantly, Pitch disappeared.

"He did it. Sage got the snow globe back..." Lea said, now looking down in sadness.

Alien X turned to her in worry. "What is it, Lea?"

"Sage wouldn't be out there risking his life if I hadn't broken my promise in not blaming myself again involving Pitch," Lea admitted. "He didn't have to do that. Going out there on his own. What if Sage wasn't that lucky and got taken away by Pitch? It's like I'm totally useless and just create problems instead of fix them from the start!"

"Lea...Sage would have come out here, whether you broke that promise or not. He's selfless like that. He would go to the Earth and into the most dangerous situation in the world to make sure that his friends and family are safe," Alien X said, as Sage walked over to them in a distance with the dog pack trailing behind him.

"Still, I never should have come here in the first place. All I did was brought something awful to an innocent alien and human family. Now that the snow globe is no longer in Pitch's possession, I'm just gonna head back home," Lea replied, looking down on the grass while lifting her hand towards Alien X and waited for him to take it. "I'm ready."

Alien X shook his head, not taking her hand. "Not until you talk to Sage."

"Talk to him about what? That I put his family in danger and was no help at all?" Lea questioned, folding her arms.

"Lea. He, more than likely, would have left secretly to handle this, anyway. He won't blame you for anything. I know my nephew. If anything, he'll blame the actions on Pitch and no one else," Alien X reasoned.

"...I guess," Lea muttered, still feeling responsible.

 **Bark!**

They turned to see Sage, as he was letting the other dogs return home. Some nuzzled his muzzle while others licked his cheek before leaving.

"Hey, guys," Sage said, walking over to them after picking up the snow globe with his mouth.

Lea gave her best smile and bent down to Sage. "Hey, Sage. We saw what you did. That was incredible."

Sage set the snow globe down on the ground before sitting down on the soft grass.

"Thanks. Like I always say, strength of the pack is the wolf and strength of the wolf is the pack," Sage said, using his hind leg to scratch at his neck fur under his collar.

Lea chuckled. "Can't argue with that. So, what did you say to Pitch that made him run back into the shadows?"

"Oh, just that people in the Grant Mansion did believe in him, but weren't afraid of him," Sage said casually, as he scratched behind his ear.

That caught Lea off guard. Those words struck a core in the blonde teen. It brought a sudden flashback that nearly made her show a tear.

Sensing the change and smelling Lea's anxiety, Sage moved forward and nuzzled her face.

"Lea? What is it? What's wrong?" Sage asked in a worried tone.

Snapping out of her train of thought, Lea shook her head and lifted herself up before moving a few steps and going back down again. "Sorry about that, Sage. It's just...you sounded just like my cousin. He told me in his letters those exact words when first confronting the Boogie Man," she admitted, rubbing her arms anxiously. "I haven't seen him in five years since..."

Understanding, Sage moved in between her arms, making her hug him until he felt her hold him more tightly.

"It's all right. You can let it out. Believe me, I've had many people hold onto me as they cry, and I won't leave till you're calm again," Sage said calmly, doing a growl-like purr that helps calm his younger family members and friends.

Lea continued hugging Sage, trying to find her voice while swallowing the lump in her throat. "...It...It was because of my grandparents. They died when I was only ten years old while my cousin was just five. His little sister wasn't even born yet to even know them. We use to do everything together. We would all gather at my cousins' hometown during the holidays, share fascinating stories around the fire, bake delicious cookies, all sorts of ways to bond as a family. But ever since they passed away, it just felt too painful to even go back," she explained, now letting her tears fall.

Turns out, her cries were heard by Nightlight. He got out of the backpack and tried comforting his friend by hugging around her neck.

Sage nuzzled her. "Lea... Just because you can't see someone, doesn't mean they're not there. Your grandparents still love you. Probably more now than ever before."

"I know that they do. It's why I have Nightlight," Lea explained. "They both made him just for me so I wouldn't feel...all by myself. He's all that I left in remembering them."

Nightlight just nodded his head on that statement, still hugging his friend until he felt some of her tears with his wooden hands. Along with his diamonded dagger glowing a bit on that. As if it was telling him to do something.

Tilting his head on his sudden weapon's ability, Nightlight took out his diamonded dagger piece from his staff, grabbed as many tears as he could from Lea, and then added them on to his dagger. This caused the dagger to glow and transform into a slightly bigger and more realistic version than its original plastic version.

Once connecting it back to his staff, Nightlight began to lightly glow and slowly transformed with a few detailed features that made him a bit life-like. His armor had more dimension on the outlines, his weapon appeared like an actual gold wooden staff with its roots around the diamonded dagger, and his whole wooden body was sparkling in sunlight as if he really was made of light and mist.

Sage stared at Nightlight with amazement. "Wow. Little guy is just full of miracles."

"He sure is," Lea agreed, still not opening her eyes to notice what Nightlight was doing.

Sage nuzzled the blonde teen. "Lea, no matter what happened, we're okay. And that's all that matters. Past is past. All we can do is move forward."

Lea nodded her head in agreement while letting go and standing up. "Thanks, Sage. You're right. None of this is my fault or anyone's. The important thing is that everyone is safe."

Sage nodded before going down into a play bow and wagging his tail playfully.

Lea chuckled, petting Sage's head sweetly with her right hand and left one still carrying the hockey stick. "Okay. Now that Pitch is taken care of, how about we head back to the Grant Mansion and check on your family before I head home?"

Sage gave a playful growl before snatching Lea's hockey stick in his teeth and racing into the tall grass like a prancing pony, smirking as he looked back.

"Sage! Get back here!" Lea hollered, chasing after the wolf.

Meanwhile, Nightlight got off his friend and took a moment to study himself. He wasn't even sure how this was possible. Collecting the sorrow tears of Lea and putting it on his diamonded dagger to physically change his appearance was something he had no clue he could do. It was like that his spear spoke to him in doing it.

Sage barked playfully before taking off, doing a happy game of keep away.

"Come on, Sage! I got to get back home! Give me back my hockey stick!" Lea shouted, trying to catch the Shapeshifter in getting her weapon of defense back. "Alien X, a little help here?!"

Alien X chuckled. "I believe if you said the magic word, he'd stop."

"Magic word?" Lea thought out loud until it easily dawned on her, still chasing. "Please, Sage!? May I please have my stick back!?"

Sage stopped, twirled around, and dropped the stick.

"Come on, Lea. I'm just wanting to play," Sage whined, giving massive puppy dog eyes.

"I know, Sage. And I appreciate you giving me some fun, but I really need to head back home to my world," Lea reasoned, already grabbing her hockey stick and putting it back in her outside bag holster. "My parents will freak if I don't show up soon. They're probably calling the police in doing a search party in looking for me right now."

Of course, Lea was just exaggerating about her parents. But she still had concerns of her family.

Sage nodded. "Hey. Before you go, take hold of a handful of my fur and pull."

"Um...Okay," Lea was weary about it, but she got close and gently took some loose fur from Sage's mane.

Sage smiled. "Okay. Now, hold it up to the sky."

A bit confused, the blonde teen followed the Wolfblood's instructions. "All right...now what?"

Sage raised his head to the sky and howled. A warm breeze instantly blew through, swirling around the two. The air took the fur, gathering it on its wisps. The strands of fur clotted, knotted, and braided until finally, a choker necklace was left with a blue crystal in the center. Slowly, the wind dropped it into Lea's hand before disappearing.

"Whoa…" Lea said in amazement, looking at the new necklace in her hand.

"A gift so, if you want, you can come back. Or if you need us, we can come to you," Sage said.

"Sweet!" Lea smiled, already putting the necklace on. "This actually goes with the crystal bracelet North gave me. Thanks, Sage!"

Sage barked, stepping forward into a hug. "No problem. Just promise to visit soon. There's still a lot to show you."

"I'll try. Maybe I'll come back with the Guardian of Fun himself," Lea replied, smiling at returning back at this dimension before hugging Sage another time. "You did mention before about your mother and aunt meeting Jack. Along with him miraculously coming here a while back."

Sage nodded. "Hey, you can meet my mate next time."

"Is she a Wolfblood like you or completely human like me?" Lea asked.

"Macy's human, but because of a gift from my mother and me, she can change into a wolf, like I do," Sage said with a smile.

Lea chuckled. "Don't tell me that this crystal you gave me has the same effects and can turn me into a wolf, too."

Sage smiled. "Maybe. But it really depends on the animal inside you. Macy is more like a wolf than anything else. You, however, could be completely different."

"Huh. Good point. Although, between the new adventure life I'm recently having now, I think I prefer handling the first magical item the Guardians gave me," Lea responded. "Speaking of magic, where's Nightlight?"

Sage stood in a point towards Alien X, whom had Nightlight on his shoulder.

"Oh. Thanks, Sage," Lea replied, already moving towards them. "Hey, is it just me or does Nightlight look a little different?"

Sage nodded. "Your tears did that."

Lea stared at Sage as if he had lost his mind. "My tears?"

"Yeah, he collected them and they turned into that blade. You were so depressed, you didn't notice," he explained.

Lea looked at the mini diamonded dagger staff carefully before looking at Nightlight in curiosity. "Did you know you could do that?" She asked the wooden toy.

In response, Nightlight shook his head.

"Okay, this adventure keeps getting more and more mysterious. I seriously have to ask North about Nightlight. Because he never mentioned anything about the crystal doing that," Lea admitted.

Sage nodded. "Well, I won't hold you up anymore. Just remember, things may go wrong, but we still have to push on."

"True. And whether the problem is our fault or not, it's important that we try to fix them and stop it from spreading its chaos," Lea added.

Sage nodded. "Right. Good luck, and safe journeys."

Lea smiled. "Thank you, Sage. Same to you," she said to the Wolfblood while grabbing her new designed wooden toy.

"Hold on tight, Lea." Alien X said, offering his arm.

"Here it goes," Taking a deep breath before gently letting it out, Lea wrapped her left arm around Alien X's. "Goodbye, Sage. Tell your family that I hope to see them again soon."

"Of course. Besides, you still owe my cousins, sister, and I a story for bedtime," Sage reminded, wagging his tail.

Lea chuckled. "Right. If I do find a way back here, I'll be sure to make time in doing that."

Nightlight held on tightly to Lea's right arm before waving goodbye to Sage. For a mute toy, he sure was going to miss all the new friends that Lea made. Especially in a new world.

* * *

In another quick flash, the Celestialsapien teleported Lea, Nightlight, and himself teleported from outside grassy field to a familiar indoor bookstore.

"There we are. Your home," Alien X said, landing in Katherine's shop.

Lea saw that she truly was back home. She recognized the bookcases and painted walls of the silhouetted Guardians anywhere. Even the opened book about the Grant Mansion was still there on the desk.

"It truly is good to be back in New York. _My world_ New York," Lea said with a grateful grin.

Nightlight nodded his head in agreement while hugging Lea's arm.

"Just remember, an Alpha will always answer your call," Alien X said, before disappearing.

"Thank you and goodbye, Alien X," Lea said, smiling caringly at the vanishing alien and then Nightlight. "Come on, buddy. Time for you to get back inside."

Nodding his head on what Lea meant, Nightlight climbed up her arm, moved to the backpack, opened it, and then hopped inside. Before closing the zipper, he got out Lea's scarf and gave it to her.

"Thanks, Nightlight," Lea chuckled while wrapping the scarf back on around her neck.

Just then, a familiar auburn-haired teen showed up from the back room behind the register desk.

"Hey, Lea. Sorry for not being here today. I had an urgent book delivery I needed to take care of that kept me busy the whole day," Katherine explained, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Phew! It was not easy. Anyway, I hope you weren't too bored waiting for me in the bookstore."

Lea smiled, taking out her jacket to put back on. "Actually, I had a great time today. I got to know a little more about the Grant Mansion from the book you left in your desk."

"Oh, you did? That's great! What did you think of it?" Katherine asked.

"I absolutely enjoyed the whole thing. I only got to know a few members of the family, but I'm hoping I'll get to know all of them super soon," Lea answered, putting on her gloves and ear muffs.

Katherine chuckled. "Well, I should probably warn you. The Grant Mansion family is very big on members, and still growing. It might be a while in reading all the characters and knowing them."

 _She has no idea,_ Lea thought to herself with a smile.

"I wouldn't worry about that. If it's a story I seriously enjoy reading about, I'll know all the aliens and people in no time," Lea assured, folding her arms confidently. "I completed reading Jack Frost's story on the night I got it and still read it for fun."

"You make a good point. So, now that I'm back from a long day, was there anything else you wanted to chat about?" Katherine asked.

Lea opened her mouth, ready to tell her everything about meeting Jack Frost, giving him his anniversary thank-you gift, and meeting the rest of the Guardians at the North pole. Along with actually meeting the Grant Mansion family, too. But she immediately closed it, realizing that her friend had already been through a lot today as much as Lea herself.

"Uhhh…Honestly, Kate, I can tell you another time," Lea answered.

"Are you sure?" the auburn-haired teen questioned.

"Yeah. Besides, I'm already beat from all that reading. Not to mention it's getting late," Lea reasoned, pointing outside to see the sun setting down behind the city. "I should head back home before it becomes dark."

"Understandable. I'll see you later, then. Have a pleasant evening, Lea," Katherine smiled and waved goodbye.

"Same to you," Lea grinned before leaving the bookstore and closed the door behind her that left an audible ringing from the bell attached from above.

After seeing Lea leave the bookstore, Kate noticed that the snow globe that used to be on her desk was no longer there. Instead of being confused or mad, the Brunette just smiled, knowing that her friend got the snow globe to work.

"One day, Lea. You'll understand what is going on and know more about me sooner than you think," Katherine said out loud.

* * *

Meanwhile, moments later, Lea arrived at her house and the first thing she did was hit the showers before outing on dry pajamas and straight to her room to plop down face-first on her bed with the lamp on.

"Man, I'm so tired! Who would have guessed that running from alien dogs, battling Nightmare Sand Creatures, and chasing Wolfbloods would drain ya in one day?" Lea spoke to herself while lifting her head up.

In her view, she saw Nightlight climb up the bed in front of her and gave his cute tiny smile that made Lea chuckle.

"Although I didn't get to tell and show Kate my bracelet and my time involving the Guardians of Childhood, I'm happy that I got to know the Grant Mansion," Lea admitted, sitting up with her legs crossed and picking up Nightlight with both palmed hands that made him sat there. "And if they're as real as the Guardians, that must also mean the other stories M.G. Joyce made are probably real, too."

Nightlight nodded his head in agreement.

"I still don't understand a lot of things going on. And it might be a long while to figure them all out. The only thing I am sure of is that, whatever happens, I won't solve it alone," Lea reasoned happily, bringing Nightlight closer to her face. "With friends like you, Jack, Sage, and everyone else I keep meeting, I know that I can get through any challenge that comes my way. What do you think?"

In response, Nightlight leaned closer and gave a sweet tiny kiss on Lea's nose that made her blush a bit.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lea deduced, already putting her wooden friend at her nightstand until something new yet familiar caught the corner of her eye. "Huh?!"

For on her nightstand desk was a golden snow globe that had a sticky note on it. Curious, Lea took the paper attached to the globe off and read it out loud.

" ** _Incase you want to come back for a visit in our world. Signed, Alien X_** ," Lea recited, only to give another caring smile before touching the crystal choker on her neck and taking it off next to Nightlight to guard it. "Something tells me that this is not the last we'll see of the Grant Mansion."

Nightlight grinned back, really excited about that.

"Let's just call it day already and discuss more tomorrow," Lea said, letting out a yawn while going in the blanket cover and laid down her head on her pillow, facing Nightlight. "Goodnight, Nightlight…"

Once she turned off the lamp, Lea was already fast asleep and dreamt peacefully.

As for Nightlight, whom was glowing in the dark as he was made, stared at Lea caringly. He may not be able to sleep at all-or in general-but Nightlight didn't mind. This is exactly how Lea imagined him. A protector and friend that would never sleep and always be watchful for any danger that would try to attack Lea while she's sleeping.

Even though he was unsure about his fate and new ability he discovered today, Nightlight knew that Lea was right about everything she said. Whatever happens, they will face the upcoming challenges together and figure them out.


End file.
